• The Battle of Bladensburg: A Pivotal Clash in the War of 1814

"The Battle of Bladensburg: The Decisive Conflict that Led to the Burning of Washington in 1814"

During the opening years of the War of 1812 the British strategy was focused largely on protecting Canada from American invasion and conducting hit and run raids on American coastal cities and towns.

By the spring of 1814 the British Navy had established operations in the Chesapeake region, supported by their vastly superior Navy, and with Napoleon dispatched to Elba were prepared to strike hard against the Americans. While most of British army was sent to Canada to prepare an invasion of New York, a contingent of Wellington’s veterans of the Peninsula War was sent to Bermuda, and thence to Tangier Island in the Chesapeake. Their target was the American capital at Washington.

When the British troops, supplemented with sailors and Royal Marines, landed in Maryland American General William Winder moved to confront them. Winder had a force of over 1,000 regular army troops and between 5,000 and 7,000 militia at his command, which he positioned outside the town of Bladensburg, Maryland. Control of the small town allowed the Americans to defend the roads to Annapolis, Baltimore, and Washington. The American troops were supported by US Navy artillerymen commanded by Joshua Barney and established in fortified but poorly chosen defensive positions.

When the British arrived before the American lines on August 24, 1814 their commander, General Robert Ross, immediately detected and exploited the flaws in the American lines and although the American regulars and seamen held their ground for a time the less experienced militia did not. As the American army began to collapse under the British assault the President of the United States, James Madison, briefly assumed command before being escorted from the field to safety. Commodore Barney was gravely wounded, and though his men held off the British for a time they were overwhelmed when their ammunition ran out. By then the American militia was in full flight.

General Winder had made no previous plans regarding a retreat or a place for the army to re-form. In the end it wouldn’t have mattered since the American force simply disintegrated as the militia raced for safety. By late afternoon the militia were fleeing through the streets of Washington, adding to the panic already present in the capital, and the federal government was likewise seeking safe haven. The British Army entered Washington that night and set fire to numerous government buildings, including the White House and the Capitol.

After the war British sources referred to the battle as the “Bladensburg Races.” The much smaller British army inflicted a defeat upon the Americans which has been called the “…greatest disgrace ever dealt to American arms.” Despite the victory, the subsequent burning of Washington was looked at with disapproval by the capitals of Europe, including London. General Ross was killed in battle later that summer, and his family’s coat of arms was changed to add the name of Bladensburg to his honors.

Source: https://historycollection.com